Thursday, August 18, 2016

Featured autograph - Prince Fielder

Longevity seemed like it was always going to be an issue with Prince's body type and while an iron man of sorts for the bulk of his career, he'd already been in decline - his slugging percentage had dropped from 2011-2013 while he was limited to 42 games in 2014.

Prince had sort of a bounce back bounceback year in 2015 and while I hoped he would continue slugging his way back into prominence - he labored for much of this year and a neck injury cuts his big league career short at 32.

While there should is a little mourning over the apparent end, Prince maxed out his talents - ever since he tagged along with his big league father and hit home runs at old Tiger Stadium as a chubby 12-year old, Prince was expected to be like his dad.

Unlike his father, Prince swung the bat from the left side and while the body type was similar, Prince was a bit shorter than Fielder the elder - while father and son each hit 319 home runs for their careers, Prince seemed to be a better all-around hitter, with four seasons of 150 OPS+, compared to one for 'Big Daddy.'